National Autism Conference Day 2 Overview

What a full day! Now, this year I came to the conference alone since I was coming as a blogger. I intended to buy a companion pass for Michael but simply forgot. I’m glad I did since my dancer girl had Nutcracker practice today which meant that a parent needed to drive her. Something about not being able to drive herself because she was only 12 or something. Why am I telling you this? Because today was a full day. If you come as a team then each of you can go to a different break out session thus getting twice the value out of the conference. This also allows you to play to your own strengths. Michael has a technical mind. He understands the biomedical sessions far easier than I do. My brain hurts .

Raun Kaufmann is the reason behind the Son-Rise program. He was the a severely autistic 2 year old whose parents developed a program to help him completely recover from autism. He is now the Director of Global Education for the Autism Treatment Center and best selling author of the book, Autism Breakthrough: The Groundbreaking Method That Has Helped Families All Over the World. He delivered hands down the best lecture of any conference that I have ever attended. Afterwards, he was beyond gracious enough to talk at length with me about the differences between Son-Rise and RDI, which we used with Logan. He has some innovative ideas that I plan on trying out in the next few weeks. Red Light/Green Light will be at the top of my list. This is the session that excited me the most when finished.

Breakout Session 1 : Dr. Dan Rossignol

Dr. Rossignol spoke more at length about Medical Problems Potentially Contributing to Autism. I always enjoy his lectures although I could live without the poop pictures. I love how he started his program with a call to action. He is also a man who likes to start and end on time. Remember that if you are ever attending one of his lectures.

Michael, oh Michael! Where are you? Unlike Rossignol, Bradstreet is a tough listen. He throws out big words and studies. He always loses me with his information. The only thing I learned with no translation was that low Vitamin D levels in pregnant moms are a definitive prediction of autism. Mind blown! I managed to take notes though and do some more research on things he was talking about.

This session was another medical one. Can you see why my brain hurts? I know several people who are struggling with Pandas in the children with autism. For them, I sat through and took notes of this one. Scott Smith is a physician’s assistant in Melbourne , Florida who specializes in treating children with autism , specifically with Pandas/Pans. He was very personable and gracious. His presentation was really informative and understandable.

That’s it for today. I managed to snag some gift bags and info for giveaways. One more day left to learn all I can then I begin the posts about each session. Woot!

About Us

Call me Penny, wife to Michael as well as mom to Logan who has autism and Madison who is pursuing a dance career.
Based on my own personal and often difficult experiences with autism, I hope to educate families of children with autism on how to navigate their world from pre diagnosis to adulthood.